R.I. Federal Judge Allows Journos to Live-Tweet Sentencing Hearing; Court System Remains Intact

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United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island Chief Judge William E. Smith this week allowed journalists for the first time to use cellphones and other electronic devices to live-Tweet the sentencing of a criminal case, the Providence Journal reported today.

Judge Smith permitted social media coverage of the sentencing of Joseph A. Caramadre, a  politically connected philanthropist who received a six-year jail term and was ordered to pay millions in restitution for orchestrating an investment scheme that victimized terminally ill individuals.

The high-profile sentencing hearing became a one-time exception to the court's antiquated local rules that proscribe the use of such devices in court.

'Scripps-y' Gets Newsy

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Columbia, Missouri-based Newsy, the five-year-old digital video news platform founded by CEO Jim Spencer, has been acquired in a $35 million cash deal by media conglomerate E.W. Scripps Co., TechCrunch.com reports.

The Cincinnati-based Scripps, which owns 19 tv stations and 14 newspapers in 13 markets, added Newsy as a subsidiary to add a digital video component to its stable. Spencer and Newsy's 35 full-time and part-time staffers will continue to work out of Columbia, according to TechCrunch.

Murdoch's Daily Tough Tablet to Swallow--50 Staffers Pink-Slipped

(Photo credit: robjewitt)Rupert Murdoch's The Daily, News Corp.'s $30 million national digital news outlet designed for tablets and touchscreen devices that made its splashy debut on Groundhog Day a year ago (see "TUOL" post 1/28/11), has laid off 29 percent of its full-time staff, with 50 employees cut loose, All Things Digital.com reports.

Other changes at The Daily include scrapping the opinion section and relying on content partners, such as FoxSports, to fill its sports section, according to the All Things Digital article. Additionally, the i-Pad only journal will switch to a portrait-only view.

'Huffington.' Digital Magazine on the Horizon

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"Huffington.," a digital magazine specifically designed as an app for iPad and its ilk, is the latest brainstorm produced by the AOL-owned Huffington Post Media Group, Forbes Magazine reports.

Former New York Times journalist turned Huffington Post Executive Editor Tim O'Brien will oversee the project, according to the Forbes article. The period is part of the "Huffington." periodical's title. Vanity Fair was already taken, though there's no lack of vanity involved in the digital moniker.

The End of the Printing Presse?

Image by kevincrumbs via FlickrMontreal-based daily La Presse, part of Power Corp.'s Gesca unit, will phase out its broadsheet print edition within three to five years, according to Reuters.

The news service cited the Canadian French-language daily's rival, Le Devoir, in reporting that La Presse will reduce its print run to 75,000 copies, from its current circulation of 200,000. La Presse purportedly will offer iPads or other tablets to subscribers who commit to the digital version for three years.

La Presse, which launched in 1884, in trying to stay ahead of the public's changing media loyalties, is expected to spend upward of $25 million to effect the transition, over and above the already $7 million it has doled out to establish a digital platform.

Virtual Newsstand Aim of Joint Venture of Media Conglomerates

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Four media giants that focus on magazines and the newspaper-heavy News Corp. are joining forces in a joint venture to create a digital newsstand.

Conde Nast, Time, Inc., Meredith, the Hearst Corp. and News Corp. visualize creating an industry-standard platform and an online store, similar to iTunes, where the media consortium can sell  publications to consumers who can view them on their cell phones, electronic readers, the Internet, and other digital devices yet to be devised.  The media moguls believe advertisers will pay a higher price for placement in these digital publications.

The joint venture is thus far, nameless, and none of its members has disclosed a dollar amount they expect to contribute to the effort. However, Time, Inc. executive veep John Squires will serve as the venture's interim general manager.  The success of the project is dependent on the willingness of Amazon's Kindle e-reader and Apple's iTunes to adopt the joint venture's technology standards.

"TUOL" finds it hard to imagine digitally reading magazines in the bathroom and laments the likely extinction of magazine newsstands where cranky vendors short-change the customers and yell at them not to thumb through the adult periodicals.

Mainstream Media Given 'Digit' by Local Advertisers

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According to a report in Inside Radio, BIA/Kelsey's Local Commerce Monitor revealed that 77 percent of local businesses employ some form of digital marketing, compared to only 69 percent for mainstream media.

The latest Kelsey report marks the first time that digital media has outstripped its radio, television, and print counterparts. The study found four of every ten advertising and promotional dollars being steered to digital media, twice last year's figures. Overall, local advertisers in the past year decreased promotion and advertising by 24 percent to $2.1 billion, from $2.7 billion.